Shelf bracket cover

ABSTRACT

This is an enclosure for an elongated member such as a shelf bracket which can be slipped over the bracket after it has been secured to a support member to provide a decorative cover for the bracket.

United States 1 Patent Bortz ['45] Dec. 26', 1972 [54] SHELF BRACKET COVER [56] References Clted [72] Inventor: Jack D. Berta, 240 N. Crescent Drive, Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,606,229 9/1971 wall 248/248 X Ffled: s- 1970 1,975,303 10/1934 Walker et a1. [21] APPI- Primary Examiner-William H. Schultz Attorney-Walt" R. Thiel [52] US. Cl. ..248/235 248/345! 51 Int. Cl. ..'.l\47g 29/02 [571 ABSTRACT Field of Sum! "248/235, 4 240-3, This is an enclosure for an elongated member such as a shelf bracket which can he slipped over the bracket after it has been secured to a support member to provide a decorative cover for the bracket.

fi Clalms, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED DEE 2 6 I972 SHEET 1 UF 2 I NVENTOR. #676 50271 mMJ PAIENTED DEC 2 6 I972 SHEET 2 OF 2 i I Q "Hum"- HUI; m 1| I h ML'II i All I I VE NTOR. J zz 0, 502 7 1 SHELF BRACKET COVER FIELD OF THE INVENTION which may be slipped over the bracket after it has been secured to a support member to provide a decorative covering for the bracket.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The modular or clean line" concept in interior design and decoration has resulted in the removal of many objects from the floor and the positioning of such objects on shelves or other supports attached to the walls.

Typically, supports comprise a vertical member attached to the wall and a plurality of brackets secured to the vertical member and extending therefrom. Such brackets are typically of metal because of the need for them to have a structural strength and are structurally designed to support a shelf on which may be placed heavy objects like books, stereophonic speakers, and art objects. Because such brackets are of metal, they are generally unattractiveand detract from the overall decor of the room. Therefore, a need has arisen to pro vide a low-cost covering for such brackets which will enhance their decorativeness. Decals or decorative paper have been used to cover brackets. However, such items have not proven satisfactory since they cannot be readily removed and do not enhance the overall profile of the bracket.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved enclosure for an elongated member which may be slipped on to cover the member after it is secured to a support.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a covering for a shelf bracket which may be slipped on to cover the bracket to provide a decorative cover.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved covering for a shelf bracket which may be extended to cover shelf brackets of different lengths.

These and other objects are accomplished according to the present invention in a demountable enclosure or cover for an elongated object such as a shelf bracket having a hooked end. The cover includes a chamber and at least two flat surfaces on adjacent sides ,of the cover so that one surface defines one end of the cover and the other surface supports the shelf. An engaging device is associated with the chamber and engageable by the hooked end of the bracket to retain the cover in contact with the bracket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring now to the accompanying drawings in which similar reference characters denote the same parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an improved shelf bracket cover constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and illustrating one embodiment of these principles and in which the shelf bracket is shown in dashed lines along with a portion of the support to which the bracket is secured.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 in FIG. I.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of an improved shelf bracket cover constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and illustrating a second embodiment of these principles and in which the shelf bracket is shown in dashed lines along with a portion of the support to which the bracket is secured.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the shelf bracket cover of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view taken in section of an improved shelf bracket cover constructed in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention and illustrating a third embodiment of these principles.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of the shelf bracket of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a plan view shown in section of a portion of the improved bracket cover of FIG. 1, and a portion of a bracket, a support member to which the bracket is attached and a wall.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of an improved shelf bracket cover constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and illustrating a fourth further modification and in which the shelf bracket is shown in dashed lines along with a portion of the support to which the bracket is secured.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of the bracket cover of FIG. 8 with the extension member thereof moved from engagement with the body member to illustrate the engagement of these members.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2, and 7, there is shown a first embodiment of the improved shelf bracket cover which comprises a body member 10 which has two adjacent flat surfaces 12, 14, a first of said surfaces 12 defining one end of the member and the other surface 14 defining an area for support of a shelf (not shown). As clearly shown in FIG. 7, the end surface 12 includes a groove 16 of a dimension sufficient to receive a vertical support member 18. The vertical support member 18 contains a plurality of slots 20 into which hooked portions 22 of a conventional shelf bracket 24 are inserted for retention of the shelf bracket. The other flat surface 14 contains an opening or slot 26 through which extends a shelf-retaining hook 28 on the end of the shelf bracket 24. As shown clearly in FIG. 2, the body member has a chamber 30 of sufficient dimension to receive all conventional shelf brackets and which includes a pair of opposing anti-rotation flanges 32 extending from opposite walls thereof and defining a groove of a dimension to receive the shelf bracket. The opposing flanges 32 provide a stabilizing feature since they function to prevent movement or rotation of the cover. The bracket cover of FIG. 1 is illustrated to include a decorative design. It is understood that it may have any design and that this particular design has been included for illustration only.

Once the shelf bracket 24 has been inserted into the slots 20 in the support member 18 and secured therein, the body member 10 may be slipped over the bracket by inserting the hooked end 28 of thebracket 24 into the chamber 30. The cover is secured to the bracket 24 by inserting the bracket into the chamber until the been done, the. two members are rigidly united and a shelf may be placed upon the flat surface 14,

A second embodiment of the improved shelf bracket cover of this invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 except that the flat surface 12 of the body member 10 does not contain a groove 16 and the body member and shelf bracket are secured into an integral part by the hook 28 on the bracket 24 engaging a portion of the body member rather than extending up through a slot. This isaccomplished by providing on the other end 34 of the body member from that containing the flat surface an additional chamber 36 (shown in FIG. into which the hook 28 extends.

The third embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is similar to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 except that the chamber 30 has a number of projections 40 extending from one surface thereof and a second pair of opposing flanges 42. The projections 40 and flanges 32, 42 engage the shelf bracket and provide increased strength and rigidity to the cover. One of the projections 40a is positioned in the chamber so that it will engage the hook 28 to secure the cover to the bracket. It should be pointed out that because the surface 12 of the body member is substantially longer than the corresponding surface of the bracket, the structural strength of the cover and bracket is greater than that of the bracket alone. In addition, a plurality of locating pins 43 are shown. The pins 43 engage locating receptacles (not shown) in a. mirror-half of the body member to enable the alignment of the halves of the body member when it is constructed in two parts.

It should be understood that within the principles of the present invention the body member may be made of one piece of material such as plastic through a conventional blow-molding process shown in FIG. 1 or in two halves as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. When the body member 10 is made in two halves, it is desirable to utilize the locating pins 43 to align the halves prior to their being bonded or affixed together.

F I68. 8 and 9 illustrate a modification to the basic principle of the present improved shelf bracket cover. This modification includes an extension member 50 which has one end configured similarly to the flat end 12 of the body member 10 and another end configured to include a projection 52 of sufficient dimension to engage the chamber of the body member. By this modification a shelf bracket cover of a length to cover one particular bracket can be extended to cover a longer bracket. The extension illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 has a repetitive design so that when the extension 50 is mated with the body member 10 the resultant cover will have a continuous design.

What is claimed is:

1. A demountable enclosure for an elongated member having a hooked portion such as a wall bracket comprising:

a body member including a first chamber opening into a second chamber and at least two flat surfaces on adjacent sides of said body member, one surface defining one end of said body member and including a slot of sufficient dimension to receive said elongated member, engaging means formed by the wall of said second chamber nearest one of said flat surfaces to engage said hooked portion of said elongated member; and

at least one pair of flanges each extending from opposite sides of said first chamber into opposing relationship and separated by a gap of sufficient dimension to receive and retain said elongated member.

2. The demountable enclosure of claim 1 wherein said engaging means is a projection extending from surface of said first chamber.

3. The demountable enclosure of claim 1 wherein said body member includes two half portions, each including a plurality of mateable members, each of said mateable members being mateable with a member in the other half portion.

4. The demountable enclosure of claim 1 whereinsaid elongated member is a shelf bracket adapted to be secured to a support member and said body member includes a groove in said flat surface defining one end of said body member of a depth sufficient to receive said support member.

5. The demountabie enclosure of claim 1 including an extending member having a chamber adapted to receive said elongated member and a projection extending from one side of said extending member engageable with said slot in said body member.

6. The demountable enclosure of claim 5 wherein the said elongated member and extending member each include similar decorative patterns on the surfaces thereof which are not flat so that the engagement of said elongated member with said extending member does not disrupt the continuity of the decorative pattern. 

1. A demountable enclosure for an elongated member having a hooked portion such as a wall bracket comprising: a body member including a first chamber opening into a second chamber and at least two flat surfaces on adjacent sides of said body member, one surface defining one end of said body member and including a slot of sufficient dimension to receive said elongated member, engaging means formed by the wall of said second chamber nearest one of said flat surfaces to engage said hooked portion of said elongated member; and at least one pair of flanges each extending from opposite sides of said first chamber into opposing relationship and separated by a gap of sufficient dimension to receive and retain said elongated member.
 2. The demountable enclosure of claim 1 wherein said engaging means is a projection extending from surface of said first chamber.
 3. The demountable enclosure of claim 1 wherein said body member includes two half portions, each including a plurality of mateable members, each of said mateable members being mateable with a member in the other half portion.
 4. The demountable enclosure of claim 1 wherein said elongated member is a shelf bracket adapted to be secured to a support member and said body member includes a groove in said flat surface defining one end of said body member of a depth sufficient to receive said support member.
 5. The demountable enclosure of claim 1 including an extending member having a chamber adapted to receive said elongated member and a projection extending from one side of said extending member engageable with said slot in said body member.
 6. The demountable enclosure of claim 5 wherein the said elongated member and extending member each include similar decorative patterns on the surfaces thereof which are not flat so that the engagement of said elongated member with said extending member does not disrupt the continuity of the decorative pattern. 